Looking for something to keep in bedroom/car?

So the only pistol I actually own is the S&W .44 my Pawpaw gave me when I was born, but that is more of a show piece. Heck I've never even fired it. So I'm just looking for something cheap but dependable and not necessarily to carry.

1911?

What do you mean by cheap?

More than Volpone, less than Tex.

Seriously though, uh... as little money as I can get away with.

I've got a buddy who has one of these.

It's been pretty damn accurate and reliable when we've shot it. I'd say it would be a pretty damn good trunk pistol.

... Is there any reason I shouldn't keep a machete in my car trunk?

Geez, that's pretty inexpensive.

Probably outside your price range, but for a handgun, I've heard the Taurus 1911 is a very good value and I'm really considering picking one up at the earliest possible chance.

But shit, if you're looking for cheap, dependable, and not necessarily for carry, go apeshit. Get yerself a Mossberg 590 Military. I've got the 590 Special Purpose 9 shot. Nine shots of 00 Buck in a cylinder bore, evil-looking black plastic, Parkerized with a ventilated heat shield. And a bayonet lug (fits an M-16 bayonet). I think I paid $250 or so for mine, used.

The best thing about the 590 is, you pull that fucker out of your trunk/under you bed and rack it, 99 times out of 100, that's the end of the confrontation--even without a big, fucking knife on the end of the magazine. And for that 1 in 100 kind of guy who won't listen to reason, well, even in a high-stress situation you won't spaz out and have problems with it. It won't jam, and there isn't anything alive this side of a Grizzly bear that will stand up to a fair percentage of 162 lead pellets, dumped into its body at around 900 fps in as many seconds. Shit, I think you could kill a 1970 Buick with a Mossberg 590 Military.

The problem with semi-automatic handguns, semi-automatic shotguns, and even pump-action shotguns is the springs.

All of them have spring loaded magazines that must be released from pressure from time to time, lest they fail at the moment of truth. Back when I was young and stupid, I'd load up a magazine, tap it into the weapon and forget about it. Then I'd take it out to the range and be shocked when it failed to feed because the spring had simply worn out due to constantly being under pressure for month after month after month. That's why I periodically start a thread mentioning that it's time to rotate your magazines. Unload and store the ones you're using now and rotate in a new batch. I usually obtain at least 12 magazines to go with each weapon so only three are loaded at any given time and only then for a maximum of 3 months a year.

If you want a gun you can throw in the locked glove box, under the seat, or in the night stand and never have to worry about it, get a small frame 5-shot .38 Special and load it up with good +P ammo.

Until recently, I would have recommended nothing but Smith and Wesson. To this day, I still carry my airweight J-Frame as a backup every single day. But, the new ones are shit and the built in gun lock is mechanically unreliable. You should be able to pick up an older (without the mechanical internal gun lock) used one for ~$250-$300 and it will last you a lifetime without much worry.

But, if you want to go brand new, I would advise you to get this.

I have a Walther PPK/S that has two clips. One of them has had 5 shells in it (out of a capacity for 7) for, like, 6 years. I have never had a problem with the magazine. I have never had a feed failure. I dunno. Maybe if I loaded to max capacity I'd have a problem, but as it stands it's been fine.

There's some debate about what does and doesn't wear springs out. Some say keeping a spring compressed will wear it out faster, while others say it's the constant compressing and releasing of the spring that wears them out, and that just leaving a spring compressed doesn't weaken it.

That's kind of the point when you're talking about a gun that you'll be keeping in your car. If it gets lost of stolen, you aren't out a huge investment.

That's how MAOHS and I pass off guns to gangs in Memphis.

I actually keep one next to my bed. It was a christmas present from my mother.

No shit. You could easily ask $300 for it. That's a 100% markup!

I mean, legally. Is there a law against it?

I doubt there's a law against it. I've had one in my trunk for decades. I got in the habit when my folks had the cabin up in NY State. It was a mile off the main road on a gravel road that was not unfamiliar with fallen saplings. I never got out of the habit, so the dern thing is still in my trunk.

Though what good a machete in the trunk is going to do you in any self-defense situation, I can't imagine.

If my assailant has a gun, I'm screwed whether it's in my glove compartment or my trunk anyway. This way, if I get stopped speeding, I don't have an edged weapon sitting on top of my paperwork.

Shit. I really don't know if I'd have the stomach to use a machete on another human being. Yeah, I guess in a life or death situation, but it seems that in any situation where you're using a machete, you're taking the first shot--or you're in too close to employ it properly. At any rate, having seen what it can do to a tree, I really don't want to know what it can do to flesh and bone. And if you use it, you're definitely going to be completely covered in gore.

Shit, I hate knives, and I think I'd rather kill someone with a knife than with a machete. I think I could deal with a bloody hand and lots of little holes in someone's abdomen a lot better than one big one in their head/shoulder.

And while a machete is probably going to end a fight a lot more quickly than a tire iron or a baseball bat, I almost think I'd rather hit someone with one of those. At least if the red stuff stays mostly on the inside, I can entertain the illusion I'm not killing someone.

A Machete qualifies as a 'farm implement' under most laws, so as long as its in the TRUNK and not in the car with you, you're fine.

A baseball bat in the trunk should be accompanied by a glove, so in case you're searched you 'like to hit the batting cages' or something.

Baseball bat would be a better idea for self-defense, maybe, but a machete has its uses as a cutting edge for other things.

Oh. One thing on weakening springs that I just occurred to me:

Back when I owned a paintball field, the guns I had said they should be stored cocked. Most paintball guns (at least mid-1990s rental ones) fire from an open bolt. The sear engages with the bolt back. You pull the trigger and a spring pushes the bolt forward, chambering a ball. As the bolt travels forward, that opens the valve to send a puff of CO2 just as the bolt closes. The CO2 sends the ball downrange and recocks the bolt.

Like I said, the manual said the guns should be stored cocked. Well the next season we couldn't get velocities that were worth a damn. It turned out that the bolt springs had weakened to the point that it was affecting operation. We wound up replacing pretty much all the springs.

From that point on, the guns were stored with the bolt forward and we never had any problems. I could probably go home, grab one out of the rack, maybe clean it up a bit, and it would function as well as it did when I bought it, 12 years ago.

You're right... he should keep a full auto paintball gun in his car.

MOAHS, damn! That's dirt cheap.

Volpone, I'm looking for something to keep in the glovebox. While the Mossberg would be fun, I don't think it will fit.

EB. Interesting... I haven't really thought about a revolver. My dad's always said they were more reliable, but why a .38 Special?

I err on the side of caution and rotate mine, but I've heard those arguements, too.

I'm super cautious - new mag springs once a year, never carry ammo for more than six months, and when i hit 10,000 rounds on my xd40... gonna change the guide rod spring.

Haven't thought to rotate mags in years. Sounds like something to do this weekend.

Should probably go own the cellar and see if that .357 I hid back there is still there too.

It is a common warning printed inside of nearly every commercially available magazine's packaging.

However, those new silicone/nylon coated AR mags are advertised to withstand up to ten years of constant compression, but that remains to be seen because those companies haven't even been in business for ten years, much less held clinical trials.

They're more reliable when left loaded and unattended for an extended period of time (years). However, after two years, I'd change the ammo anyways.

I'd choose .38 Special because it's a good all-around cartridge. It has enough power to stop a human but the recoil is controllable for the novice shooter (Anne). J Frames are also small, easily concealed, and light.

Back in the day, dad didn't mind carrying around a 46 ounce (nearly 3lb) cocked and locked 1911A1 for 12+ hours on his 2 1/2 inch leather duty belt supported by keepers. But, most people don't want to carry that kind of load for that long, concealed, on a daily basis. Hell, it makes my pants start to sag eventually and I wear a 1 3/4 inch garrison belt with a metal reinforcing bar just for that purpose. I doubt even Shoes carries his, daily, for 12+ hours.

Oh god. I really don't want to try and teach Anne to shoot. I remember what happened when I tried to teach Vandy to drive.

I don't get it. Alot of our friends are from Western WA (ie Rednecks) and go shooting all the time, but she never has. She even got nervous when I was checking out my buddies AR last weekend, to which I just gave her a flat look and said "I've done this before you know."

Look at it like this. If the worst situation in the world happened, with just a basic knowledge, she could pick up that revolver, point, and squeeze the trigger. In the nightmare situation, is she doing to think to grip a 1911's grip just so so it disengages the grip safety and remember to toggle the thumb safety? And that's if it's sitting in the glove box cocked and locked. Do you think she'll remember to rack the slide?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking the 1911. It's my single favorite handgun of all time. But, I'm just thinking about the novice shooter here. The 1911 is not for a beginner and the felt recoil of a .38 special round is worlds, worlds apart from a .45ACP round. There's a reason the FBI went to Smith and Wesson to develop the .40SW cartridge. The small-frame female agents just couldn't control the recoil from handguns chambered in 10mm and .45ACP.

Get a .357 snub nose - you can use .38's in it, or load it hot when it's just you.